


Dead and Loving it

by Koppan



Category: Naruto
Genre: Character Death, Creepy Naruto - Freeform, Depressed Uzumaki Naruto, F/M, Fear, Fear of Death, Gen, Ghosts, Horror, Murder, Mystery, Naruto has trouble making friends and its not because of the kyuubi, Naruto needs some help, Naruto starts seeing ghosts on day, No Bashing, Other, Thriller, Uzumaki Naruto Needs a Hug, Uzumaki Naruto Sees Ghosts, scared naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28717626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koppan/pseuds/Koppan
Summary: "I'm haunted by the dark shadows of the past."Kakashi blinked slowly. "You mean you see-He interrupted with wide eyes. "They watch me...follow me...and hate me, and they don't like me talking to you."The room felt colder and the air heavy. Naruto's eyes, once a mesmerizing shade of blue and full of life was suddenly not so beautiful.Just what was wrong with sensei's son?
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto & Other(s)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 102





	1. The man in the mirror

Naruto stared. The man in the mirror stared back. 

He won't leave.

He doesn't blink and where his left eye should be is empty and that surprisingly is not the most unnerving part. 

He. Won't. Stop. Smiling. 

His smile was wide, showing all teeth and pushing up his eyes making them look smaller. Naruto tried not to shiver. He didn't want him to notice. Is that what he come across when he smiled? Is that why the villagers despised him? 

Naruto fears if he moves that the empty eye socket and smile will follow him into his dreams. He had nightmares before and they aren't so bad when it was morning and there was sunlight to peak into the windows. Almost like a way to to ward off the lingering fear.

But the man never took his eye off of him and of course never stopped smiling. Naruto knew that he wasnt real, but the cold he felt and dark shadows of the room felt agonizing to him.

He is not real. He is not real. Is not real. Not real.

Then why couldn't naruto move?

But as he kept looking on with some trepidation he thought that the man in the mirror moved just slightly. Closer than before. 

Not real. Not real. Not real.

Naruto shut his eyes tightly as that was the only thing his body allowed him to do. When he opened them there was no longer a man in the mirror. No bloody eye socket and creepy smile. 

But of course all one must do is turn around and suddenly it's real.

A piercing scream broke into the night.

___________________________________________________________________________

He ended up falling asleep and woke up around 3am feeling more tired than he ever had in his life. He was only 7, but still.

He realized he feel asleep on the floor by his bathroom door. That's where the wall mirror was. Naruto darted his eyes away from the decor and quickly ran to his bed behind him and grabed his sheet. He covers the mirror hoping and praying to kami or anything that the thing...will not appear again. It was not real. 

Naruto then sits on his slightly too small bed and stares out the window. Anything else is better than the possibility of seeing that nightmare again. 

He couldn't wait until morning so he could go to the academy.

___________________________________________________________________________

He never did fall asleep. Just continuingly stared out the window waiting patiently for the time to tick by. 

Naruto knew he was different and that people feared and hated him. Even the kind old Hokage who Introduced him to his apartment looked at him strangely from time to time.

He asked the old man about it, but of course he received no answer. Not that he expected one. He was different and maybe now cursed or worse; haunted.

Naruto as much as he didn't want to think about it, his thoughts did turn back to the thing from last night. It had screamed at him a horrible nasty sound that rattled his ears. It once smiling face turned into a horrific showcasing. Its mouth had blood caked inside and a lose bit of tongue that wiggled like a large bloody worm. 

Was this punishment for being different?

Naruto had screamed and from that passed out right then and there due to his bout of panic. Now he was alone. (or so he hoped.) 

It was around 6:30 when Naruto started to get changed. He still avoided his mirror and made a point to cover the one in the bathroom as well. (Just in case) he probably look pitiful what with his dark eyes and unkempt hair. Maybe the villagers on his way to the academy would be more merciful with their glares. 

He made his way out of the apartment and locked his door. He never realized how heavy the air felt in his home until he came outside. Suddenly it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. 

He started on his way slowly as he was exhausted. He didn't even notice the villagers glares and some even worried glaces. Nor did he notice the other newer additions to the village. 

___________________________________________________________________________

He plopped himself into a seat in the back. There was a lot of commotion in the front so maybe if he is really quiet people will ignore him today. He was so tired. Putting his head into his arms he started to close his eyes. 

"Uzumaki-san? 

He must have dozed off a little. He opened his eyes to see his irritated teachers face. 

"If you could keep your attention on me for the duration of class that would be be appreciated." Shizura-sensei had a out of place sneer on her elegent features. 

"Ah-sorry." He mumbled. He must have looked as bad as he thought since she never called out to him again for laying back down.

Oddly he felt like someone was staring at him.

He felt cold. 

When the academy finally let out he didn't immediately go home. Why would he? There was nobody to greet him or prepared a fresh cook meal. Or he thought in the back of his mind maybe he wouldn't be alone if he went home

So he walked into the road that ran through the village. There was this store he liked to window shop at that sold flowers. He of course never went in, as he didn't think he would be allowed. 

As he walked he started to hear whispers. 

"That boy...your fault...go away." 

He has heard these all before and tried to ignore them. The kept his face up stared straight ahead. 

"My family...why...kill yourself."

His footsteps faltered and suddenly he didn't feel like looking at the flowers anymore. So he ran to the only place where he felt somewhat safe.

He sat upon the at the top of the Hokage monument knees brought up to the chest looking over the village he lived in. Why did the people hate him? What has he done?

There are a lot of things Naruto doesn't know and things he does. He understands how to read, write, cook, garden, and run. What he doesnt understand is why he is treated differently than others. Did he really kill the villagers family? They seem to think so.

He ended up staying up at the monument until the sun had started to wane and his stomach made demanding noises at him.

__________________________________________________________________________

He finally went home. By the time he reached his door it was dark and he felt so cold. He just wanted to skip dinner and crawl into bed and sleep.

Opening the door he suddenly remembered why he was avoiding going home. He stepped inside and felt a sense of forboding. It felt as if he was being watched; carefully and gleefully. Hesitatingly he closed the door and locked it. 

The lights were still off and he didn't want to turn them on. Afraid he might see just what was watching him. Afraid it would be the man from last night. So he slowly walked to his bed not even bothering to remove his shoes and climbed in. 

It was quiet and he was cold.

He did not sleep well.

___________________________________________________________________________


	2. The girl across the way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto tries to make some friends. It doesn't go as planned.

Naruto didn't see or hear anyone last night. If he did he didn't know what he would do. 

So when first light appeared he got up and made to change and make something to eat as he skipped dinner last night. (For obvious reasons). He had to make his way to the academy again this morning. He was so out of it yesterday that he was mostly nodding off and being scolded. Today he was going to try to be more attentive for the teachers sake and maybe his. 

He wanted to go to the academy and learn to be a ninja. So much so that he he wanted to be Hokage. He wanted to be truly seen and the best ninja ever. 

So with that in mind he left his dreary apartment. 

On his way he looked up towards the sky. There were some rain clouds coming in, big grey blobs steam rolling by. He should of brought his umbrella he thought. He'll be regretting that later. 

Reaching the building, yet again being early, he made way in shizura-sensei's room. He made a promise today that he wouldn't fall asleep even if he wanted too. 

Stepping into the room he mumbled out a quick good morning to his teacher who silently nodded and went back to what she was previously doing before.  
Hopefully they wouldn't have a pop quiz today as he nodded off the other day.

He ended up in the same seat as yesterday. Usually he does like to sit in the front as it makes him feel like he's center of attention. But again today he didn't want to be bothered. 

Over the next few hours our little Naruto did in fact end up falling asleep through two of his classes. Once being told to sit outside of the classroom for snoring. He did manage to keep his promise to Shizura-sensei though. 

__________________________________________________________________________

During the lunch/recess period Naruto decided he was bored of sitting and watching the other children play. He walked up towards a group of girls who were playing with some wildflowers. He like to do that too. 

So with some confidence he strolled over to them.

"Uh-what are you guys doing?"

One of the girls who had deep brown hair and eyes looked up at him causing some deep root anxiety as she started to squint her eyes at him. Almost like sizing him up and trying to see the filth within him. Knowing him, probably.

Surprisingly she answered. "We're making flower crowns, and we don't want no nasty boys ruining them." At the end of her sentence she turn up her nose. 

"Oh I like flower crowns too. I wouldn't hurt them." Maybe he thought if he told them this they may let him play with him.

But all good ideas are turn away as one of the other girls, the one with the soft golden honey color hair leaned over to whisper to her other friend with the black hair.

"I think I know him."

"Yeah, he's that boy with the whiskers. My mother says not to play with him."

Naruto's building hope was slam back into his chest. He should have guessed making friends wouldn't be easy.

All three girls stared at him without saying anything. He took that as his cue to leave. Behind him as he walked he heard the sounds of laughter. 

The academy let out two hours later and he made his way home, having nowhere else to go and not being hungry. Plus it was raining now and he didn't have his umbrella. He didn't necessarily want to go back to the dark stifling place, but it beat being wet. 

Right before he turned the corner to get on the street he lived on a girl ran out in front of him. Trying not to ram into her, his body almost looked comical as his limbs started going every which way. 

"Oi, watch where your going!" He knew it was probably an accident, but still. 

"Sorry." She had her head down and was wearing a long rain coat with the hood up. Her jacket was a bright red thing with a simple daisy design, making it look cute. 

When she looked up she was pale. Paler than he ever seen someone before. And from what he could see she had black hair and dark green eyes. Overall she was pretty. She was most likely a civilian as he never seen her at the academy. 

"Who are you?" She asked. She had a high pitch voice making her sound very young. She might have been younger than he was. 

"Uzumaki Naruto! who are you and what are you doing outside?" He was curious. He was going home, but the direction she was going was to the houses that were under construction nearby. 

"I'm Saori!" 

"Uh..." She looked nervous now.

"I was going home, but I can't seem to find my house. My mother must be worried about me." 

He debated whether to do something to help or just go sorry your on your own. In the end he decided he could live with being in the rain a little longer, it wasn't like it was pouring. Almost as if to mock him a bright flash of lightening litter the sky followed by a rumbling boom.

"Do you need some help then?"

She taken to looking at the ground again, but had turned her eyes to him at his question.

"Really! That would be great!" She gave him a big grin. 

Staring at her smile and wondering what this warm feeling is he felt himself start to grin too. Maybe...he hoped, he could make a friend with Saori.

__________________________________________________________________________

"Are you sure you live here?" Satori and him ended up in the neighborhood with all the homes that were under construction. Some of the building were old and being fixed up, but nobody lived on this street here anymore or so he thought. Almost all the houses on the street were brand new from the growing population of Konoha. 

She nodded. "Yeah, I recognize that home there."

"Ok-ay."

The house she was referring to was older and decrepit. The paint that once was beautiful now looked faded and cracked. The door in front looked as if one good gust of wind could knock in down. 

Speaking of gusts of wind it looked as if one would knock Saori down as well. She was swaying a little and would stumble every once in a while. 

"Saori, are you okay, do you need to sit down?" 

She looked behind at him and shook her head making the rain pellets fly everywhere. 

"No thank you, I'm pretty sure we're almost to my home."

He was glad she said that. 

He was cold.

A few minutes later Saori exclaimed in jubilation that she found her house. Bringing out a sigh of relief from him. He was happy to help, and make potential friends but he didn't want to get sick from being outside in the elements too long.

"Oh Naruto, do you want to come inside to warm up? My mother might even have some snacks for us to eat." She sounded very happy and excited by the prospect of him coming in. 

"Oh I uh-" he was worried her mother would recognize him and tell him to get out and never speak to her daughter again. He didn't want to lose a possible friend. 

She must have seen something in his eyes because she smiled even wider. 

"Mother will like you. You helped me after all." 

"Please come inside!" She was begging now. He can't say no to that.

He ducked his head slightly. "Okay."

"Great! Mother makes this wonderful tea-"

_____________________________________________________________________________

He couldn't believe there was a house that looked like this in the neighborhood. It was certainly older, but it was beautiful and huge! Compared to the other buildings this was a gem. Yes there were some finished reconstructed homes but nothing like this. 

It was two stories and have a large yet modest yard in the front and what also look like in the back as well. The color was a nice tan with big windows on the front. It looked like it could fit a large family and gave off a happy feeling. The curtains were drawn closed but he bet it was as lovely inside as outside.

He was right. 

Blossoming colors were everywhere. Pinks, reds, greens, blues, you name it. It gave off a friendly feeling to any spot you looked. 

Despite the cheery colors it was freezing indoors. He almost couldn't feel his finger tips. Although that probably had to do with being outside for so long. 

He was so cold. Maybe he could take Saori up on the offer of a warm cup of tea.

"Mother! I brought home a new friend." Saori started pulling her shoes off and ran towards the kitchen where a pleasent scent came from. He could hear her rambling about him helping her.

"Alright, let's welcome our guest then." A soothing voice called. A tall women came out of the kitchen area carrying a apron that she must of just took off. She had black hair like Saori but with beautiful light brown eyes. She have off a kind aura and had a small smile on her face. The smile was directed towards him. He blushed. 

"Hello, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! This was it. She would know his name and kick him out. 

"Hello Naruto-kun! I'm Kagome, welcome to our home." She continued with her smile never faltering. He blushed again. 

"Thank you for having me." The old man Hokage told him about manners before. He hopes he does him proud. 

"Come inside the dining area I'll prepare us some tea and snacks to warm you both up." She directed to the room she came from and he followed her. 

Hopefully he get warmer. 

"Oi Naruto! I told you my mother would like you!" She looked pleased with herself for some reason. He smiles in response. 

"Are you able to stay for a while? Maybe we could play in my room." She looked towards her mother in question..

"You can unless Naruto-kun has other obligations to attend to." That was the answer.

"Oh I can stay. I live alone anyways." He said bitterly, then immediately scolded himself for saying it like that in front of his hosts. 

"By yourself?" Kagome asked with a worried look.

"I'm an orphan and instead of staying at the orphanage I live on my own." He never had anyone look at him with worry before besides the old man. He felt warmth in his chest. 

"That's horrible, you can stay as long as you want." She nodded to herself. Almost like saying and thats final. 

"Thank you Kagome-san." He really was thankful and happy. 

Saori came over to stand next to him bouncing on her heels and keeping the same excitement. He noticed something about her her though. She had yet to take off her coat. It was wet and her hood was still up. He looked towards the ground and saw a trail of water to where she was. He was surprised she didn't take it off or that her mother didn't make her. 

Not his business, so whatever. 

"Can we go play now while you make tea mother?" 

Her mom wave her off with a smile. " Yes yes! I'll call you out later." 

That was all Saori needed and she took off down a hallway nearby. 

"Come on Naruto!" 

With a grin he followed after her.

_____________________________________________________________________________

45 mins later after drawing in Saoris room Kagome called out for them from the kitchen. 

Coming in the room they saw a lovely display of vegetables and fruits with onigiri on another plate. It looked and smelled delicious!

They quickly setted themselves around the food and waited for Kagome herself to come over too. 

"Well...dig in you two."

They did just that. 

After a few minutes of only hearing munching Naruto decided to start a conversation..

"Ah, are you guys the only people that live on this street? I didn't see any other ready homes and there were no other lights." He was curious about that since he and Saori stepped foot into the neighborhood. 

"Oh we have many neighbors. Saori is friends with all the kids here. Isn't that right darling?" 

Saori swallowing her mouth full nodded quickly. "Yeah, maybe you can come over again and you can meet everyone else."

He was confused. All the home were either being constructed, redone, or were in shambles. He saw! This was the only house that was finished or at least he thought so. They didn't walk all the way up the street so he could be wrong. 

"How far down are their homes?" 

Saori looked at him and smiled. "They live in the house next door." She sounded very sure of it. 

He saw the house next door. It was barely standing. No windows or even a door. He highly doubted there was someone in a place so dangerous. Against his judgment he went along with them. 

"I see." He didn't. 

There was an awkward silence for a while. Only soft chewing sounds being heard.

A minute later naruto wanted more water so he made to stand up and grab his glass to go to the sink. He stood up while at the same time Saori was starting to reach over the table to take another onigiri. His hand hit her head making the hood of her still wet rain coat get knocked off. 

Everything stopped. Naruto held his breath and stared. He suddenly remembered he was still very cold. It never felt more prominent until now. 

Where Saoris hood was covering she had a large gapping hole on her skull. He could see everything! The blood. Her brain. There were bits missing and the area pulsated with every second. 

He could almost hear it pulsing.

Bump-bump...bump-bump...bump-bump

Maybe that was his heart instead. 

It was so loud.

Saori hand that was reaching for the food remained hovering and didn't move. She slowly moved her eyes towards him. He shivered. Her green eyes looked bright like deadly acid. Get too close and you'll get burned.

"Are you okay Naruto?" She sounded innocent enough, but he couldn't concentrate with the gaping whole in her HEAD! This was like with the man in the mirror all over again. Was he truly being punished? He just wanted a friend!

"Yeah, I-"

"I-" he kept stuttering.

Everything was so cold. Saori and Kagome looked pale, wide eyed, and confused. He was slowly backing away from the table. Around him the scene  
started to change. Once a room filled with a glorious aroma and bright colors of wildflowers began to wilt. 

The walls cracked and splintered leaving dents and holes showing the now pouring rain outside. His stomach clenched, the food of the table no longer looked pleasent to the senses. 

He felt sick. 

Rotten long forgotten food laid out before him. Mold and decay already set in.

What was wrong with him?

Why him?

"Naruto-kun?"

He had to leave now. His breathing became laboured and his eyes darted to the way he came to where his shoes were. He looked down at his feet. They were filthy from the dirt and rain. 

He turned around and started to walk to the once entry way. 

"Oi Naruto! Where are you going?" 

Would they let him leave? "I remember I had to visit someone tonight and need to get back." He tried to look apologetic, bit he figured it came off as more of a grimace. 

Satori looked disappointed, she put her head down showcasing the bloody mess on her head. She walked towards him though and let a small smile grace her features. 

"We will play another day right?" She was in front of him and reached out a hand to grab his shoulder. He flinched hard away and she look hurt, but finally accomplished touching him. 

He realized despite being in close proximity to her for the past hour or so this was the first time they made contact. 

She was freezing.

He started to feel light headed and images popped into his mind. 

A girl playing on a rainy day in a once beautiful neighborhood with her friends. Boys and girls alike. She had the same raincoat on and she was running through the road.  
As she was playing she didn't see the horse and cart and slammed intonthe animal. 

The majestic animal roared back and-

A thud, than silence.

Dead silence.

Naruto was silent and didn't move. Saori in front of him started tearing up. 

"Oh, I see."

She did. 

Naruto thought she should do something. Instead of the fear he felt with the man in the mirror, now he felt sad. She died in an accident and her mother was left by herself to suffer alone. Childless. 

He bowed his head. 

"I'm so sorry Saori and Kagome-san." 

Naruto did something surprising, he wrapped his arms around Saori. Shivering and feeling like the life was being sucked from him. He held on though.  
He stayed like that for a few seconds and backed up from her. 

Saori and Kagome behind her looked different. They became brighter. Not blinding, but a sheen to them. Naruto watched as they slowly disappeared. Sad smiles on their faces. 

He was alone left with a rotted house that once was so beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo a second chapter. I felt inspired today to write some more. Lucky you guys. I have a sort of plan where I want Naruto to meet different ghost each chapter. Hence the title of chapter one (the man in the mirror) and this one (the girl across the way) I do want him to meet some cannon characters as well. Just not in this chapter. Sorry.
> 
> If you are confused about the ending sorry. I image the the two ghosts pass on after they find out they are dead. Naruto connected with then when they touch. 
> 
> That won't always be the case with all ghosts. Some are different, but who knows.
> 
> Again thanks for reading and subscribing to my story. Until next time.


	3. The self-aware man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto still hates his apartment and meets another ghost.

It's been a week since Saori and Kagome disappeared in front of him. He still didn't know what to think about that. 

He also hasn't been able to sleep all too much lately either. 

Everytime he walks into his apartment it's like someone is grabbing his throat, choking him slowly. The mirrors are still covered and he refuses to lift them. He doesn't care about his looks. If he comes across as creepy or sick then whatever. 

It's a Saturday afternoon so their is no academy today. He debates on going out. Outside is blistering hot, so much so you can see the heat waves rippling on the ground. He definitely doesn't want to be out there, but he also doesn't want to be at home. 

He still feals unnerved being alone at home. At night he doesn't leave any lights on, even when going to the bathroom. The feeling of being watched is more prominent after the sun goes down. He hates his apartment and wonders if the old man would let him move if he complained a lot. He also feels unnerved being outside too. Ever since Saori and Kagome left he's been seeing more strange things.

Ghastly men, women, and children wandering corners and buildings. Shadows in corners stalking about aimlessly. Pale faces and bloody images staring at nothing. Have they always been there? He didn't think he was so unobservent as to miss the images of people with wounds and shrieking voices. 

He realized this week that he was the only one able to see them. There was an incident when he started talking to one of them in the middle of the village coming back from buying some groceries. He didn't know they were dead, they looked normal. No scars or blood and they didn't even wail. 

The old women had dropped a heavy looking bag on the ground and Naruto ran over to help, as nobody went to help her. (Jerks) He never noticed the villagers giving him strange unnerved looks as he did so. 

"Ah thank you young man." He hand quivered as she grasped the bag he handed her. 

"I'm getting too old to be out in this heat anymore." 

Naruto figured that was true. 

"Yeah, no problem granny!"

She smiled and walked passed him. 

Some of the ghosts weren't so bad. Saori, the granny (who he didn't know was dead) and some random ones he meet were kind and simply confused. They didn't hate or glare at him. Little mercies it seems. 

Majority of the spirits he saw weren't so kind or indifferent. 

Most would wail and scream, crying in the faces of the villagers as they passed through them. Their eyes were usually glazed over and dark in color. He stayed away from them as they were angry and hateful. He found out that the hard way when one of them noticed his eyes on them. 

The spirit sprinted towards him and shrieked at his face spiting insults and hates filled words. Telling him to die and how he was unloved. He didnt want to know what made them so hateful. 

The way he got rid of them was by ignoring them and appearing like he never saw them in the the first place. Sometimes it would take a while for them to get the hint. As far as he knew they couldn't hurt him.

Their were also these other ghosts he saw that he vowed to stay away from at all costs. 

They smelled as rotten as they looked. Appearance wise they had a unnatural sickly hue to their skin, almost yellow. It looked like they were infected with a disease. Their eyes would be dull and faded no longer able to see what color they were. Their mouth parted open mumbling incoherent words repeatedly. Foul is the description Naruto would use for them. They had became husks, no longer human and were left in a rotting spirit.

They scared him.

He feared he may become like that too one day.

Some apparitions he noticed were able to manifest themselves and manipulate things around them better than others. Most not being able touch or really do anything. Saori and her mother were able to change the scenery completely until the end.

He frowned. 

He wondered why he could see them now instead of before. What changed?

He also wondered if he should tell the Hokage about this change. As quickly as the thought came it disappeared. Would the old man even believe him? Probably not, plus he was always busy with something. It has been several months since he last seen him.

Going back to his previous thoughts of leaving the house today he wondered what should he do.

He could try a prank, but that would involve running and again too hot. It was fun, but he also didn't want to get scolded by the Hokage.

The swing at the park? Others kids may be there and the swing may not be available. He could try to play with the other kids, but last week's failure with the girls sprang into his mind. 

The library was an option. Despite previous conception's Naruto does like to read and can. He likes the adventure books about heros coming to defeat the bad guy and rescue the princess. Sometimes he'll read school related books too, mostly on ninjistu and taijutsu. 

The road to being a ninja is a long and hard one Naruto would come to realize.

Decision made. Now he just had to avoid the ill tempered ghosts loitering around outside.

_________________________________________________________________________

He knew he was dead. 

He remembered how he died and why, but also who he left behind. Which was depressing enough as is. 

Now he was bored. He did his daily rounds in the morning of stalking his son and old friends and was wondering...what next?

What can he do?

Why is he still here? 

He loves to see how his son has become a strong and good man, despite his adversity. That made death a little more bearable, knowing his son could deal with whatever came his way. He wished he was with him though now more than ever. His son was starting to spiral into depression. 

He knows what that looks like.

He hopes he meets someone or makes more friends that will help him. Since he was no longer there. Turning his thoughts away from that topic, the apparition glaced around pondering his next move of the day.

Seems like fate decided to make things interesting. 

A newspaper boy was going to the library to restock the papers for the afternoon, the early morning batch already gone. He followed the kid inside to see if the headline was anything interesting. 

He waited until the boy had placed down the papers and leaned over the mailbox. 

On the front in large bold letters read; MURDER OR ACCIDENT: Man's body found outside of Hokage tower 5:30am. No eye witnesses reported seeing any persons in area. 

Strange. The tower is quite secured so the likely hood of anybody not seeing something rubbed him wrong. Sadly he couldn't read the rest of the story as it was on another page. 

It's a little hard to turn a page when you know...your dead. 

Maybe he could try to listen in on people in town for more information. The civilians would be more likely to gossip than the shinobi. 

Plans made up for the day he turns to go back the way he came.

Someone was coming in through the door. A head of mangy unkempt blonde hair came into the building. He's seen him before around the village, but he doesn't remember him looking so terrible. 

Under his blue eyes were large dark bags and his clothes had a several tears in them. He looked terrible and tired, not that he could blame him. Uzumaki Naruto has a hard life from what he has seen so far. As an Jinchuriki of the kyuubi no kitsune he was never promised a good easy life. That was forfeited the day he was born. 

The Uzumaki boy roamed his eyes in the entry room looking for where to start his perusal. He noticed though with some confusion that his eyes seem to purposely skip over him, and then avoid the area all together.

Normal people don't do that. 

People would typically come across as looking at him directly, but in reality be staring at the thing or person behind him. He found this out early on. 

It seems that life in death was getting interesting.

He decided to hold off on his previous plans for the short moment and made his way to towards the boy who now has started walking to the fiction section. 

He watched for a few minutes and at times put himself directly in front of the boy to watch his reaction. Again he avoid him with his eyes and kept trying to read the spines of the books in front of him. He shook a little bit and looked a little pale. 

Maybe he should put him out of his misery. He wasn't trying to be cruel, just curious. 

"Hello." He'll start off with that and see what the Jinchuriki will do. 

He ignored him. 

He tries again. "Hello Uzumaki-san." Maybe calling his name would spark a different reaction. It didn't disappoint. 

He gasped softly and his eyes darted towards his face. Quickly realizing what he did he ducked his head and grabbed a book on the shelf. A book.he probably didn't even read the title of. 

"I know you can see me Uzumaki-san." He smiles a little to attempt to calm the boy. He was still shaking.

Still no response. He opened the book in his hand now and is sitting at the tables appearing to read it. From the way his eyes aren't moving across the pages hes not doing very well at faking it.

He sighs and goes near the set next to him. He's still standing so he able to look down at the muted blonde hair. It looks like he hasn't showered for a few days, and if he had his sense of smell he would probably smell bad.

"I had a request for you, if you would be willing to help me." 

A small flinch and his head tilted a tad. He would count that as a small victory, but he hasn't won the war yet. 

"The newspaper in the front entryway I would like to read more of it, but I can't move the pages." He paused and watched him.

"Would you help me?" Again he tried to give off a kind smile. His son when he was 4 once told him he had a nice one. The only true complement his child gave him before he started the academy. 

It must have worked because the kid finally looked up at him still a little pale, but looking directly at his face. 

He didn't respond for a minute, but then sighed realizing he wasn't going to leave right away. "I guess." He whispered. 

He got up from his chair and left, coming back a minute later with a paper in tow. 

He wanted to see the paper, but it was amazing to know that somebody could see him. This could be beneficial for both of them. 

Naruto placed the paper of the table in front of him and spead it out to read. Sitting himself back down he looked towards him and back to the newspaper again. 

"Tell me when to turn the page for you." He kept his voice low to not be heard by the librarian or other guests. Doesn't want to come across as crazy, or worse that he might be talking to something he shouldn't know about. 

"Thank you Uzumaki-san, you are helping me stave off my boredom."

He nodded a little but looked confused. He waited to see if he would ask him something. After checking to see if anyone was near by he asked:

"How do you know who I am?" He sounded curious.

He debated how to answer. "I don't know you personally, but have heard and seen you in passing." 

He of course knew him as the other villagers dubbed; the demon child or the fox brat. Which boils his rage inside. Nobody should be treated like that. Naruto interrupted his angry thoughts.

"Oh...Who are you then?"

The kid seems like a curious child. He smiled then and crouched in front of him putting out his hand. 

"Hatake Sakumo, nice to meet you." 

Naruto hesitated in bring his hand forward. He didn't expect that their hands would actually touch, but old habits die hard. Literally in his case. When their hands met Naruto shivered. 

"Nice to meet you Hatake-san, I'm Uzumaki Naruto." 

Ah yes, maybe a relationship would be beneficial to both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! This one is shorter than the previous one, sorry about that. 
> 
> Annnd we finally get a cannon character besides Naruto!! Whoa!!
> 
> I always liked the moments we saw of Sakumo in the manga/anime.  
> I wish we had more of him. I image he is very kind and loving man, but can be cold and calculating at a moment's notice. 
> 
> Don't know what the next chapter will bring, but untill then. 
> 
> Thank you for leaving kudos and commenting. I really love hearing from you guys!!!!


	4. The Wrinkled Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and Sakumo start their investigation.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. It's been several hours since he met the older ghost in the library...and he was still following him.

He didn't know what to think of the ghost. Although there was this foreign feeling deep within his stomach that threatened to come out.

Oh...that's what it felt like to be annoyed.

He shivered. Apparently He didn't know how to keep his distance so he was constantly cold.

The man in question had long spiky whitish hair pulled in a ponytail cascading down his back. His eyes a deep dark grey having a sort of oval shape. When he would have an idea those same grey eyes would shine just a little brighter, almost like twinkling. He had some wrinkles around his eyes, making Naruto think he smiles a lot.

He wore a standard Jounin uniform with some flecks of blood on and near his neck. Overall everything about him looked average. He just looked like a typical Jounin of the village.

He didn't seem like the angry and foul ghosts around the village, but that didn't mean anything. A lot of people came across as kind and casual then stab you in the back.

When in the library, the man seemed almost...bored. Naruto knew what that was like as when he usually began to feel bored he would prank others or try to annoy them. Naruto then and there decided this guy wasn't as scary as he thought. So Naruto helped turn the pages as requested. After that he was free to go and will probably never see him again.

For a while nothing on the earlier pages seemed to interest the older man. A lot of the stories were simple ones was about how the Inuzuka clan rescued dogs from the pounds or wild and we're providing homes. There was also a small article about the Hokage and a secret drawer in his office that nobody is able to find, rumored to have hidden treasure. Naruto thought that was ridiculous and laughed.

It wasn't until page 8 that Hatake-san perked up and leaned forward in interest. He looked at the page and read the title. Murder or accident? A man's body was found outside the Hokage tower-.

Why was Hatake interested in that? He was already dead, why did he want to read about other deceased people?

He decided to read the article. 

_At 5:30 a.m. an employee of the Hokage Tower coming in from the west was on their way to work when they noticed a man sitting in an awkward position on a bench in front of the building. Going to check if the man was okay saw blood and immediately called the authorities._

_The man; now identified as Yamamoto Shun, (refer the photo above) was found with a severe wound on his stomach and received a blow to the head. No eye witnesses saw the man arrive at the tower. The authorities speculate the man was murder based off the autopsy report._

_Yamamoto left behind a widowed wife and daughter---  
Funeral services will be on -----_

The article ended there.

It was not a long story, but Natuto did find it strange. The building always had someone in and outside of it, as he would know. The likelihood that the body wasn't found before 5:30 is odd. Something else was strange about it too, but he couldn't put his finger on it. So, he didn't think too hard on it, not like it was his business anyway. He wouldn't get anything out of it for meddling. But...Hatake-san seemed invested in it.

The man had his eyes narrowed and was hunched over the table concentrating deeply. Instead of wondering why the article was important, Naruto was just thinking if the ghost could feel back pain.

Probably not.

He figures the Uchiha Police Force will figure it out pretty quick. They were fast and efficient in what they did. Even he has been caught by them a few times when he pulled his pranks. The chief now knows him by name personally. He hasn't done anything in a while to warrant being taken in, so he wonders how the old geezer is doing.

Maybe he should say hello.

Right now though after being in the library for the past hour he wants some fresh air. His eyes also needed a break or he feels like they will fall out. He looked beside him to see Hatake-san still looking at the paper.

Naruto pushed his chair back and got up stretching his limbs. Sakumo's eyes moved towards him and he stood up erect as well.

"Were you done with the paper?"

He wanted to clean up the table and leave. Maybe he would go train a little.

"Yes, I am finished." 

"Thank you for doing that for me." He smiled at him kindly.

Naruto, not used to compliments, rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

"Eh-no problem old man, if that's all I'm gonna head out."

He didn't receive a reply but assumed that was a goodbye from the man, so he put the books back on the return cart and left the building.

A few minutes he feels a sudden bout of cold. He shivers and begins to frown.

Another minute goes by and the cold doesn't dissipate. He clenched his hands and his eye twitched. Suddenly an idea pops into his head and Naruto books it.

In passing he saw several villagers (and ghosts) give him strange looks as he ran past them weaving through the large crowds and trying to give the white hair man the slip. He came to a halt near a back alley. 

He didn't feel cold nor did he see the ghost around him so he counted his victory. With a grin he continued on his way. Even though it was hot outside he wanted to train a little since the final exams of the year were coming up this week so, with those intentions he made his way to a training field. 

He checked to see if the area was empty. There was a single lingering spirit in the nearby trees staring out into the forest area. He made a point to not interact with the ghost, it didn’t look friendly. He thought he was far enough away to avoid disturbing the spirit. 

Naruto started on some light stretches to begin for the afternoon. A few minutes passed in this fashion until he began to practice his kata’s. 

Kick...punch...step….repeat.

The sun was high up in the sky and Naruto during his Kata’s noticed a few birds passing overhead. He heard the usual sounds of the outdoors that he found relaxing. This field was pleasant in that there was a decent source of water a dozen feet or so. The memorial stone was also not far from his location.

He has been to pay respect to the fallen heroes in the past. The Old man Hokage once brought him here after he said something disrespectful about some shinobi. He never said anything bad about any ever again. 

Sometimes he liked to think his parents were on the stone. Died as heroes like the Hokage told him.  
He did find an Uzumaki Kushina listed and wondered if they were related. He thought about asking the Hokage, but refrained. He didn’t want to be lied to again.

Settling into his next set of Katas he started to breathe heavily. That’s when he heard it.

Grunting.

There was a sound of groans and grunting coming his way. Starting quiet at first but gradually getting louder. 

Naruto froze in his movements. 

He thought he was far enough away from the ghost, he didn’t even look in that general direction to gain it’s attention. The cold feeling that came with being around a ghost came over him. 

He closed his eyes and slowly walked towards the other end of the training field. 

The cold never dissipated. 

He heard his name being called, and in surprise he stumbled on his feet and turned around. Not only was the forest ghost nearby (aimlessly walking around to not be a problem.) but so was the Hakate ghost.. 

Great.

He's back.

He breathed in deeply, relieved it wasn’t the other one.

Earlier he hoped he had ditched him but somehow he found him. He mentally sighed, what did he want now? He didn't think he had anything else to offer the ghost, but he guessed wrong.

His eye twitched again. The jerk looked amused at his tripping. He wished he could psychically touch him so he could smack him around. Although he probably wouldn't be able to do much at his age and height.

He glared at the ghost with what he thought came across as scary, but in reality he looked like a dirty, ragged drowned kitten. The white hair man just laughed, bringing his hand in front of his mouth trying to hide the fact. 

He turned away pink coloring his cheeks.

He was glad nobody else was around to see him glare into an empty space. They would think he was crazy. 

"Why are you following me?" He was still glaring at him. He must have purposely tried to scare him, the jerk. 

He looked him straight in the eye. "I would like your assistance on something." 

Again? 

He didn't want to.

"I believe we may be able to benefit from each other Uzumaki-kun."

Benefit? He was 7 for kami's sake, what could he gain from him? He asked as much. Might as well get this over with.

"You see, I was a Jounin before I...died." he stopped for a second then continued. 

"As a Jounin you meet people, do jobs...follow the rules... and you learn to look underneath the underneath."

Naruto wrinkled his brows at that and was a little confused at where this was going.

"Because of my training and being able to look underneath, I see that something is wrong with the village. I feel that it has to do with that murder in the newspaper we read earlier." 

While he was talking, Naruto had his glass raised both his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Okay?" 

Sakumo sighed. "What I'm getting at is I can't interact with other living people. You on the other hand are able to see and talk to both dead and alive for some reason. I am unable to protect the village or my son I left behind. I don't want to remain here living the rest of these prolonged days in regret."

His grey eyes took in his face. "Will you help me protect everyone?" 

Naruto's mouth dropped and openly gaped. That is a lot to ask for. He would love to protect the village too, as his goal is to become Hokage. He didn’t know about his son, but whatever. Doubt crawled into mind. What could he truly do? He's a academy student with minimal training and too young to do anything. Also not to mention that most people tend to Ignore or ridicule him. 

What was this guy expecting?

"I don't know, it sounds really dangerous." He'll be blunt about it. 

"It will be, I won't lie to you. This is important though and you wouldn't be alone."

He thought it over in his head. This could be a chance to become a hero he always wanted to be. Maybe the Hokage will be so impressed he'll hand over the hat right away. 

First he wanted something in return.

"I'll agree on one condition." His face turned sly. Out of the corner of his eye the forest ghost walked through a tree grunting loudly.

"You help me train and study for school. I have an exam this week and the academy is on its last week before break and then we start back up in September." 

Sakumo turned thoughtful but nodded and held out his hand. 

"You have a deal." 

He flinched when he grabbed the spot his hand would be. Darn it, he would have to get used to being cold. 

_______________________________________________

Naruto ended up staying at the field for another hour finishing his exercises. They grey haired ghost even gave him some good advice on his Kata’s. Afterwards Naruto and his new companion left. Naruto liked to think he was smart, but he thinks that the whole solving murders thing is going to go wrong. Why did he have to be the one to see ghosts? 

He sighed. No use whining about it, nobody listens anyway.

Naruto glanced beside him on his right. He supposes he should be calling him Sakumo-sensei now. Thinking about it, maybe he was too hasty in agreeing to help. He didn’t know who this guy really is. 

He seemed intelligent though, being able to look underneath the underneath. Or so he says.

Naruto didn’t know where they would start on this little mystery. They couldn’t go and question the authorities (UPF) and they didn’t know the names of the family or the employee that found the body.

They could go to the funeral, but that would be in bad taste. He thought that would be wrong to do, even in the name of justice. 

So they were stuck basically, unless Sakumo-Sensei picked up an idea.

It’s not like they could talk to the dea-

Oh...he was an idiot. He mentally slapped his head. How he forgot that when he was walking next to a ghost. 

They had the answers right here in Konoha. The man that was supposedly murder was somewhere in the village. This might be easier than they thought. He smiled to himself. The Yamamoto guy should be able to provide the answer to who killed him. Right? 

Sakumo noticed his smile and raised his eyebrows. 

“What?” 

He didn’t answer him as they were now out in the open with many people milling about. Naruto ducked into a nearby alleyway and Sakumo followed.  
“I suggest we search for Yamamoto-san first before we do anything.” If they were going to do this they better do it now. Monday was just around the corner and that meant going back to the academy to study and do the final exam. 

Sakumo nodded. “I was going to suggest the same. We can probably find him since we saw his picture in the paper.” 

He agreed. “Do we want to split up?”

“Yes, we can cover more ground that way, I’ll take the northern direction if you want to go south.”

Naruto thought that would be good. The guy was freezing to be around. “Yeah, okay.”

“Where should we meet back up and what time?”

He thought they could probably meet at the same training grounds before the sun completely sinks. 

They came to an agreement and departed. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Where was this guy? Seriously, It’s been a few hours since he started his ghost hunting. Yet nothing! He doesn’t fully know how the dead work and operate, but he thought with being a week dead that he would be wandering about somewhere. 

Did he ever manifest as a ghost, or did he disappear like Saori and Kagome? 

Both would mean that Sakumo and him have hit their first dead end. It’s been a couple hours and the sun has already begun to set in the sky casting a pink and orange glow to the village. 

He was too scared to try to ask the ghosts for help. When he did get close to any they were the more hateful ones that tended to stare and yell at him as he walked by. They kept spouting nonsense about him being a murderer. He sighed. It was time to meet back up with the old ghost like they agreed to. 

He hoped Sakumo had better luck than he did and found the other spirit. 

He didn’t.

Naruto hung his head and hunched forward. 

In the field they sat down in front of each other.  
“I didn’t find Yamamoto-san, I fear he may have passed on.” A strange look came over his face when he said that, but he smoothed out his look and continued.

“I did find out a few things though, but I would like to hear how you did first.”

Naruto shook his head gently. 

“I didn’t have any luck either. He was disappointed that he didn’t find Yamamoto. He didn’t like feeling like a failure or that he didn't do enough.

Sakumo gave him a soft smile almost as if he knew what was on his mind. “That’s okay. This is a lot that I am asking of you, but believe it or not I do need you Naruto-kun.” “You are the line between the living and the dead. I don’t know why, but I believe it’s fate that drove you and me to meet.” 

Naruto gaped at him. He supposed he was the only known person that could be a waypoint between the two “worlds”. To believe in fate though was a little ridiculous to him though. He mentally grimaces at the thought. 

What really astounded him was the fact that he was needed. There was a warm feeling in his chest bursting to come out. 

“Okay, what else did you find out?”

“Do you still have the paper from the library?” 

Naruto pulled it from his pocket. The paper has seen better days. It was crumpled and torn on some spots from being inside his pants.

“The article mentioned a family. A widow and young daughter.” 

Naruto remembered that information.

He continued. “I was going to find out where they live and see if we can go see them. There is also a possibility that Yamamoto-san spirit made his way to his home.”

He could see the logic in that, but there was a problem.

“Um...I’m 7.

Sakumo’s eyes lit up in understanding.

“Well I suppose that means I’ll have to start training you then.”

Naruto perked up. He wondered what he would teach him. He was a Jounin so that had to mean something, right?

“Have you been introduced to the Henge yet?”

In the academy they have been told the brief overview of the three main Ninjutsu, but will not start to learn them until next year. For now they are only discussing the benefits of the jutsu’s and the hand signs which in his opinion is boring.

He replied. “I know what it is, but have not been taught it yet.

”While I search for an address you will be training in the Henge for the next few days. I hope you are a fast learner Naruto.” He smiled at him.

This time though it wasn’t a good feeling when he looked at him smiling. All he felt doom. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Four days later and Naruto realized something about his new Sensei; the man is a slave driver. He was harsher in practice and study than any of his other academy teachers. Although if anything he would probably be the most ready by the time the exam rolled around. 

His self-deemed Sensei had him go to the library on his own and study for several hours about the chakra exercises and the uses and benefits of chakra. Which okay, he can put in some reading so as to comprehend the jutsu better.

Then had him do physical exercises 3 hours a day and they were the most labor intensive exercises possible. By the time he was 10 seconds into the training he was exhausted.

Afterwards he would have to go and practice hand signs for 30 minutes or until he seemed worthy of finally molding his chakra like how it said in the books.

It was four long days, but he did it.

He was able to perform a henge, maybe not as perfectly as others, but it will do for their purposes. 

It seems while he was training, Sakumo was busy too. In the last four days he snooped around and found the address of the widow and daughter. 

He found it by hanging around the morgue and funeral home. So now with a direction in mind they can finally try to get some answers.

_____________________________________________________________________________________  
An hour later after discussing what questions they should ask they were standing in front of the Yamamoto household. Sakumo to his right and Naruto, now temporarily called Ankoshi Yuugen is using a henge to look like an average 20 some year old man. He now had dark rich brown hair and slanted black eyes, he was wearing average brown pants and a light colored shirt. Typical clothes you would see on a civilian.

He thought he looked a little too average, but couldn’t do much more detail. He’ll have to work on his henge some more. 

Naruto glazed at the house. The door looked like it was freshly painted with modest flowers in the small humble yard. It seemed they were recently potted and watered. Overall it looked friendly. Hopefully everything would go well and they could see Yamamoto Shun.

Sakumo put his hand through his shoulder to get his attention. He shivered. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m going to knock.”

He lifted his hand and knocked three times in rhythm.

Naruto listened for any movement inside. He doubted they would be out anywhere, considering the murderer could be interested in hurting the rest of the Yamamoto family. 

He finally heard some muffled footsteps that came closer to the door. The door was opened by a small child who he assumed was the daughter. She looked up at him in suspicion with her eyebrows arched downwards and her lips set in a frown. 

“Who are you?” Her voice was high pitched and curious.

This was it, no turning back now. “My name is Ankoshi Yuugen, is your mother home?”

She was about to answer when the voice of her mom came from another room.

“Tsuna, I told you not to answer the door.” She sounded frustrated and nervous. 

The daughter now known as Tsuna looked down at her feet a little bashfully. 

“Sorry.” 

Her mother sighed and came fully to the door after telling her daughter to go to her room. She was a beautiful woman with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. Smooth unblemished and tan skin greeted them. She didn’t smile at him, but she gazed and narrowed her eyes like her daughter in suspicion.

“I am not interested in any interview for your paper, please leave me and my daughter alone.” She was glaring now at him. He noticed she shuffled her feet into a odd stance. 

Okay.

Lucky for her, he wasn’t working for the paper. Just partnering with the ghost next to him. 

“Naruto, tell her we were assigned to her husband murder case.” Sakumo interjected.

“My name is Ankoshi Yuugen, I am working on your late husband's case, may I come in so we may talk?”

He hoped he sounded mature and adult like. 

She still looked angry and suspicious, but nodded her head and backed up to let him in. 

“Go to the room on the right and I’ll right there. I’ll get us some refreshments.”

Tsuna followed her mother into the kitchen on the opposite side of the home to where the kitchen was. When he watched their retreating backs he noticed the mother had an almost unnoticeable limp.

He went to the room and instantly felt colder than before. 

His eyes instantly darted to the corner of the room where a worn and cared for piano rested. Standing next to the instrument looking out a window was a woman.

when they came in she turned to face them. She was an old woman with pale skin and stark white hair that hung loosely on her shoulders. Her eyes that were once a brilliant vibrant green were now glassy. Her wrinkled face was sunken in making her look ill and worn. A frown was permanent on her face.

Naruto instantly felt unnerved by her. She clearly knows that Naruto can see her and Sakumo is standing beside him staring between her and him. He was worried she was one of the angry ghosts that he had come in contact with before. 

Or worse like the one in his apartment.

Sakumo first spoke.

“I’m Sakumo and this is Naruto, we're here to help in figuring out the murder of Yamamoto Shun.”

At the name her face that was already set in a frown sank further making her wrinkles more pronounced.

“Are you related to the family?” Sakumo was tense like he was after asking his question. He must in his own way feel the negativity emanating from her.

Naruto started shaking a little from fear. It's been almost 2 weeks now since he started seeing ghosts, but he still knew nothing about them. Saori and being with Sakumo taught him a few things, but nothing really. He didn’t know what this old lady would or could do.

He needed to do more research or experimenting.

She opened her mouth. Her voice was deep and mature, yet he heard the clear anger in it.

“Regrettably, yes.”

She came from the window and sat down on a nearby chair.

“You want to solve the murder of my _son?”_ She spit out the word in distaste. “Don’t waste your time on that nonsense, he deserved what was coming to him.” 

She started muttering hateful things about the man and cursing his name. 

Naruto was shocked. What a horrible thing to say, and about her own son at that. What has he done to deserve it? In the back of his mind he thought maybe she was the one that deserved death.

He shook his head at that. 

Sakumo briefly looked back at him and back to her.

“Did his spirit ever come back here to this house?”

She looked at Sakumo in distaste.

“No, I have been fortunate to not have to share living space with him since then.” 

Naruto braved his question. “What did your son do, why do you hate him?” He wanted to know why she hated her child. He thought parents were supposed to always love their children. 

He thought about the name on the memorial stone. _Uzumaki Kushina._

If possible she looked even angrier than before.

“My _son_ is a no good, idiotic, lying, bumbling fool.” She spit out the words. “He was always talking about his big latest novice invention, saying how it was the one that would change everything. Knowing my son they ultimately always fail.” she looked away from them briefly with a angry shaky voice. “He always fails

Naruto and Sakumo looked at each other. 

“He fails to understand the importance of full responsibility for anything. He inherited this house and money from his father upon his passing away and he squandered it all for this failure of a project and for his drunken habits." She muttered some more words they were unable to hear, although he probably didn't want to hear it. 

"He used up the money, Rika was angry, so he was going to take the deed and sell this house, he put it in his work bag." She shook with fury, her eyes glazed over dimmed. She screamed loudly and wailed holding her hands on her head. Her body was twitching madly and she darted to the window they originally saw her at.

Naruto and Sakumo jumped in surprised and backed away from her immediately. The room filled quickly of a cold and dark presence. Naruto was shaking himself in badly in badly suppressed far. While she continued screaming and twitching, Sakumo was in front of him shielding him from her view. He was a little shocked by that and grateful as well. 

It seemed the protection was unneeded as a few seconds later she seemed to come back to her senses. The tense dark feeling in the room disapated. She blinked her eyes slowly and turned looked at them. 

She muttered some words, Naruto only caught a few in between; "Sell....house....liar...useless...my home." It seemed they weren't going to get anymore information from her and they watched warily as she drifted off into a different room of the house, 

He could tell Sakumo was unnerved. He had his hands clenched and his kind looking face was set into a deep scowl. 

By this time the widowed wife came into the room looking at Naruto strangely. (He was shaking and staring where the ghost was previously at with lingering fear.)

“Is everything alright?” She asked him slowly.

Naruto waved her off saying he was fine (he was not) and sat down in another chair in the room. Naruto put his focus into the woman in front of him.

While he still was filled with fear, he also felt a little awkward. Oddly enough this was the first living person in almost 2 weeks that he is having a real conversation with. He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing yet.

He offered him tea, which he gratefully took. “I never introduced myself. My name Rika and the young girl you saw earlier is my 5 year old daughter Tsuna. What did you say your name was?” she questioned him.

“Na-.” He almost screwed up and said his name. “I’m...Ankoshi Yuugen, I am assigned to your husband's case.” 

She was watching him closely. “I thought the Uchiha police force were the only ones working on it.”

He swallowed heavily. He was screwed just like he thought he would be. Sakumo who was watching him nodded to him to continue.

“Yes, but I work independently on cases that interest me.”

He was proud of his answer and smiled inwardly.

I was interested in your husband's st-.” He was interrupted.

She was glaring at him again, shaking a little from what, he didn’t know. “You know you can cut the bull, I know you're in a henge. I can feel your chakra circulating strongly.” 

She continued while he inwardly panicked. “I highly doubt you will give me your real name so answer me this; What do you really want?” "Are you really a writer for the paper, a gossip, bored?

Crap. 

His previous confidence quickly evaporated. 

He sighed, he was told before that he was a terrible liar and besides he couldn’t think of any excuses.

Before he could answer she asked him another question.

“Are you involved with his death?” She was shaking again but with what he now recognized as fear. She was afraid of him. He now noticed that her hand was consistently under her thigh touching what looked like a small piece of metal. 

This wasn’t good at all. He needed to do something fast.

Sakumo was now by his side looking at him worriedly. "Naruto, why don't you-." He didn't let him finish his sentence. 

“No, Yamamoto-san. I cannot tell you who I am, but I promise you I am not involved in the death of your husband.” He hoped he sounded sincere.

Nothing about her body language changed. Sakumo looked like he was going to try to continue whatever he was going to say before.

Naruto pushed on. “I just want to help and learn the truth.”

She shifted a little. “Why?”

He sighed and could feel both occupants of the rooms eyes on him. “I love Konoha and everyone in it." Which was true even if they didn't care for him. "I want to protect everyone and that means starting here.” “I want to find out why this happened and stop it from happening again.” He tried conveying what Sakumo told him a few days ago when he asked for his help. Thankfully it seemed to have helped cause he loosened up slightly as the brief glint of metal disapeared.

“Alright.” while she looked like she didn't fully trust his she looked ready to answer some questions. He mentally cheered inside.

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

The next 15 minutes were simple questions about where he worked, what he did, and if he was a sociable person, etc.. Sakumo and Naruto now knew the man used to work for a new up and up coming science based company called Reiki. He was an inventor and was hard working, staying late and getting ahead. Just getting those few answers they both felt like they were getting somewhere. 

Although Naruto was curious about something she said earlier.

“How did you know I was in a henge?”

She looked at him after drinking some of her tea. 

“I, at one point used to be a registered ninja.” She sounded nostalgic. “I was a sensor, that’s why I noticed your chakra right away.”

He should have guessed some previous training. Sakumo beside him nodded thoughtfully. “Why did you stop being a ninja?” 

She took to swirling her tea around and sighed softly. She decided to share.

“I got injured during the last war.” She slightly put out her leg.

He thought he noticed her slight limp earlier. 

“I was pretty young at the time, but was one of the most promising genins that graduated and sent into war.” She looked slightly upset.

“I wanted to go back into the fight after I healed, but I was told my leg would never heal properly.” She clenched her hand around her cup. “My ninja career was over and I still feel I was unable to fully serve my village.”

"I was useless.” She muttered the last part.

Naruto didn’t fully understand, but looking at Sakumo it seemed he did. He probably knew people that experienced the same thing or maybe it happened to him. Naruto suddenly wanted to know more about his ghostly partner and teacher. 

It seemed Rika wasn’t finished yet. 

“I actually met Shun not to long after that.” She bitterly smiled at them. 

“I was 18 when we met at the hospital actually, he had sprained his wrist and I was getting a check up on my leg.” She sounded wistful and smiled gently. 

“He found me and asked me out after his appointment and of course I said yes.”

She began to frown and look at him directly.

“Shun was a very kind person, so I don’t believe he had any real enemies. He wasn’t a ninja and was nice to everyone he met.” She looked down. “Now he’s dead and me and Tsuna are left with no answers.”

He believed her. He wanted to know something though.

“Did Yamamoto-san act... weirdly lately?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Yes.” He perked up and listened carefully.

“For the past week he was coming home later than usual. He says he was staying late at work and finishing up things, but I didn’t believe him.” Rika frowned further. “He seemed nervous and stressed lately, sometimes when we were outside he would constantly look over his shoulder.” “Whenever I tried to talk to him about it he would get angry and yell at me.” 

“Even out daughter Tsuna felt the shift in her father.”

Rika's eyes started to mist over slightly and she quickly rubbed her eyes. Naruto felt uncomfortable watching and turned his head away for privacy. She sniffed and coughed into her hand. 

“I wish I knew why this all happened, so I sincerely hope you find out what happened to him.” I know the authorities are working on it, but I feel they don’t fully care.” 

She looked at him and grabbed his hand. Her hand was warm. 

“Ankoshi-san, even if you do not find the truth, I want to thank you for trying.”

That seemed to be the end of the conversation. 

Naruto nodded to Rika and stood up. Rika followed. 

“Um...If we...I mean I need more information may I come back?”

Rika readily agreed, shook his hand, and guided him to the front door. Behind her now, stood the old granny with her scowl on her face and mumbling incoherently. It was time to leave. 

Sakumo and Naruto left the Yamamoto household behind. 

_____________________________________________________________________

Naruto and Sakumo stood again in the empty training field from earlier and were sitting across from one another. The forest ghost he saw before nowhere to be seen. He slumped forward in exhaustion. Holding the henge was difficult. There were times that he thought it would break, but luckily did not. 

“So he was acting strangely?” Sakumo muttered to himself. 

“Yeah, that's what she said anyway.”

Sakumo sat up straight and looked at him. 

“That’s good to know. It could mean a few things for us.” He put up one finger. “A possibility is that he is being blackmailed.” a second finger went up. “It could also be that he made enemies with the wrong people.” a final finger went up. “Or he is being stalked for an unknown reason, of course there could always be another reason, but this is what first comes to mind.”

Naruto was impressed by him Being able to come up with theories like that, he was glad he was with him. Could Naruto dare think of the man as a….friend?

Maybe.

“What was up with the mean old ghost.?” She really had unnerved him with her hateful words and looks. The negativity she radiated was horrible.

Sakumo grimaced at the question

“I am not one hundred percent sure, but It wasn't anything good. The good thing though is that she wasn’t completely useless.” 

He agreed with him. He was still left feeling unnerved and also disappointed that they didn’t get more information from her, although like Sakumo said; she wasn’t completely useless. 

They did figure out through her that he was in the middle of inventing something and spent all his inherence money on it. Obviously he was unable to complete his project. They also now knew that he had inherited the house from his father and was planning on selling the house or doing something with it. He had like the ghost said, had put the deed into his work bag. Where that bag was they didn't know. 

It left more questions than answers; answers that would be left for another day.

Hopefully they could help Rika and Tsuna feel at peace in the end and figure out this increasingly difficult mystery.

Naruto decided to ask the next important question.

“What’s next?”

Sakumo smiled at him and they began to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting patiently for the next chapter. I did plot out how I want the whole mystery to go and am very excited to share this murder mystery, thriller Naruto fanfic with you guys. 
> 
> We are finally starting the investigation and Naruto and Sakumo are stressed no doubt. Oh well! They will figure everything out eventually.
> 
> Look back to my profile bio for updates. I will post anything relevant to the story there.
> 
> Until next time.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever attempt at a fanfiction. I read a few 'Naruto can see ghosts story', but they really weren't scary or had a dark message behind them. I wanted to try my hand at it. 
> 
> I don't know how many chapters will be on this, but....
> 
> Thanks for checking out my take on this type of fanfic. Enjoy.


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